Timeline of Animated Film History Timeline of Animated Film History Timeline of Animated Film History The Evolution of Animated Film By David Nusair Updated July 04, 2016. Though one could be forgiven for assuming that the animation revolution began in 1937 with the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , the genre has actually existed almost as long as its live-action counterpart. This timeline charts animation's humble beginnings all the way through to its pervasive use within the realm of special effects: 1906 J. Stuart Blackton's Humorous Phases of Funny Faces is released. It is a three-minute short in which Blackton creates animating drawings of faces and people against a plain blackboard. 1908 The first short comprised solely of animated images, Emile Cohl's Fantasmagorie, receives its premiere in Paris. 1908 Humpty Dumpty Circus marks the first use of stop-motion animation on film. 1914 Earl Hurd invents the process of cel animation, which would revolutionize and dominate the industry for much of the 20th century.

1914 Gertie the Dinosaur is widely considered the first animated short to feature a distinguishable character, as cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay brings a walking, dancing dinosaur to life. continue reading below our video Great Singers Gone too Soon 1917 The first feature-length animated film, Quirino Cristiani's El apostol, is released. Unfortunately, he only known copy was destroyed in a fire. 1919 Felix the Cat makes his debut and becomes the first famous animated cartoon character. 1920 The first color cartoon, John Randolph Bray's The Debut of Thomas Cat, is released. 1922 Walt Disney animates his first animated short, Little Red Riding Hood. Though initially thought lost, a copy was found and restored in 1998. 1928 Mickey Mouse makes his debut. Though the first Mickey Mouse cartoon is technically the six-minute short Plane Crazy, the first Mickey Mouse short to be distributed is Steamboat Willie, which is also the first Disney cartoon with synchronized sound. 1929 Disney's iconic line of animated shorts, Silly Symphonies, kicks off its prolific run with The Skeleton Dance.

1930 Betty Boop debuts as a woman/dog hybrid in the short Dizzy Dishes. 1930 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes makes its debut with Sinkin' in the Bathtub. 1931 Quirino Cristiani's Peludopolis, which tells the story of a military coup against a corrupt president, boasts the first instance of sound within a feature-length animated film. There are no surviving copies of the movie in existence. 1932 The first full-color, three-strip Technicolor animated short, Flowers and Trees, is released. The film wins Disney the first-everAcademy Award for Animated Short Film 1933 King Kong, which features several stop-motion animated characters, is released. 1933 After starring in an extremely successful comic strip, Popeye makes his cartoon debut alongside Betty Boop in the seven-minute short Popeye the Sailor. 1933 Ub Iwerks invents the multiplane camera, which allows animators to create a three-dimensional effect within two-dimensional cartoons. 1935 The Russian film The New Gulliver becomes the first full-length feature to employ stop-motion animation for the bulk of its running time.

1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney's first full-length animated feature and the first such production to emerge out of the United States, is released. It becomes a huge box office success and Disney was awarded an Honorary Academy Award for the achievement. 1938 Bugs Bunny makes his debut in Porky's Hare Hunt, though the character wasn't named until 1941. 1940 Tom the cat launches his unending pursuit of Jerry the mouse in the Oscar-nominated short Puss Gets the Boot. 1940 Woody Woodpecker arrives on the scene with a small role in the Andy Panda cartoon Knock, Knock. 1941 The first full-length animated musical, Mr. Bug Goes to Town, is released. 1946 Disney's first live-action film, Song of the South, is released and boasts several animated interludes. Because of its depiction of the African-American character Uncle Remus, the film has never been released on home media in the United States. 1949 Prolific stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen makes his debut with the creation of the title character in Mighty Joe Young.

1972 Ralph Bakshi's Fritz the Cat is released as the first X-rated animated feature in cinematic history. 1973 Computer-generated images are used for the very first time in a brief shot within Westworld. 1975 Revolutionary special-effects company Industrial Light & Magic is founded by George Lucas. 1982 Tron marks the first time that computer-generated images are used extensively in a film. 1986 Pixar's first short, Luxo Jr., is released. It is the first computer-animated short to receive an Academy Award nomination. 1991 Beauty and the Beast becomes the first fully animated film to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. 1993 Jurassic Park becomes the first live-action film to feature photorealistic computer-animated creatures. 1995 The first computer-animated film, Toy Story , is released to theaters. The achievement is honored with a Special Achievement Academy Award . 1999 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace marks the first film to use computer-generated imagery extensively and pervasively, in terms of its sets, special effects, and supporting characters. 2002 The Academy creates a Best Animated Feature category, with Shrek the first movie to win the Oscar.

2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers features the first photorealistic motion captured character for a film, with Andy Serkis portraying Gollum. 2004 The Polar Express becomes the first fully-animated film to use motion capture technology to render all of its characters. 2005 Chicken Little becomes the first computer animated film to be released in 3D. 2009 James Cameron's groundbreaking Avatar is the first film to feature a fully CG 3D photorealistic world, List of Disney theatrical animated features | Disney Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia List of Disney theatrical animated features 40,858pages on Share The following is a list of animated feature films produced and/or released by The Walt Disney Company or its predecessor, Walt Disney Productions. The lists have been broken down categorically by sub-studio, etc. Walt Disney Studios began work on animated short films in 1923. Then, in 1938, the studio released its first feature-length animated film with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , and has hence continued to produce shorts, featurettes, and feature films to this day. Throughout the years, the studio has expanded its reach.

Between collaborating with other studios to co-produce films to The Walt Disney Company distributing animated features produced by other companies, Walt Disney Studios no longer produces all their animated content under the Disney banner. Their most recent film, Moana , released in 2016, marks the studio's 56th feature-length animated film. Contents [ show ] Walt Disney Animation Studios Please do not move these films from one portion of this list to another. In particular, do not add other films to the Walt Disney Animation Studio (WDAS) films portion of the list UNLESS Disney has announced a new WDAS production. What is and what isn't in the official canon has already been fixed; as the official WDAS can be found here. Any of the following are *not* part of the official WDAS canon: Pixar films, whether made before or after Disney acquired Pixar . (Pixar remains a separate production unit within Disney. There have been no WDAS/Pixar co-productions as of 9/28/2011; if there is one, its inclusion in the list will have to be determined then.) Marvel films, whether made before or after Disney acquired Marvel.

The only exception to this is Big Hero 6 , which has already been added to the list, and was produced by WDAS. Muppets or Bear in the Big Blue House films, whether made before or after Disney acquired those properties from The Jim Henson Company. (WDAS has not made any Muppet or Bear films as of 9/28/2011; if WDAS produces a fully-animated Muppet or Bear film in the future, it may be added to the list.) Any other puppet films, even if produced by Disney. Any animated films that have often been mistaken to have been made by Disney, but are not: Anastasia (produced by Fox Animation Studios & distributed by 20th Century Fox), Quest for Camelot or The Iron Giant (both produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation & distributed by Warner Bros.), etc. Live action Disney films that include animated bits or sequences (even if produced by WDAS), such as Song of the South , Mary Poppins , Bedknobs and Broomsticks , Pete's Dragon , Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Enchanted . Those are listed below in another section.

However, Fantasia , Saludos Amigos , The Three Caballeros , Make Mine Music , Fun and Fancy Free , Melody Time , The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad , The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh , Fantasia 2000 , Chicken Little , Winnie the Pooh , and Dinosaur all have live-action settings, characters, and animated characters that are (sometimes) officially included in the canon. Films distributed, but not produced by Disney, such as The Wild . Those are listed below in other sections. The following is a list of the animated films that were either entirely produced in-house by Walt Disney Productions prior to 1986, or were produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios , formerly known as Walt Disney Feature Animation, after 1986. For advertising purposes, The Walt Disney Company began to affix numbers to each of the films in the late 1980s. Through this method, they could proclaim the film to be "Disney's X full-length animated film".

When the numbering system was introduced, the group of films included became collectively known as the "Disney Animation Canon." Many film historians and animation fans refer to them as Disney "classics" or Disney "features". The numbering system remains today, as recent press releases for such products as the 20th anniversary edition of Oliver & Company , as well as the opening and closing logos and marketing materials for Tangled , still refer to the film's number. Some foreign numbering systems of Disney Animated Classics exclude Dinosaur and include The Wild . However, The Wild was not produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios nor Disney in that matter, let alone owning the films' distribution rights. In some countries, Winnie the Pooh does not count in these lists as a classic, leaving Wreck-It Ralph in 51st place. Disney Animated Canon The following list shows all the fully animated films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and most recently [Moana] # Walt Disney Animation Studios THE HISTORY OF DISNEY ANIMATION In 1937, the Walt Disney Studios released its first fully animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and pioneered a new form of family entertainment.

More than seven decades later, Walt Disney Animation Studios continues to honor its heritage through animated films that combine beautiful artistry, masterful storytelling and ground-breaking technology. CLICK TO ENTER San Fransokyo, the fictional metropolis in which the film is set, is actually based on a caricature of property data collected from maps obtained from San Francisco's Assessor-Recorder's office. Three times as complex as any setting from previous Disney animated films, San Fransokyo features 83,000 buildings, 216,000 street lights, and hundreds of thousands of residents. The setting is so large, in fact, that the environments from all three of Disney's previous animated films (Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen) can fit into the city of San Fransokyo. BH6 clocked 199,000,000 render hours. By comparison, Tangled clocked 11,500,000 render hours, Wreck-It Ralph clocked 21,900,000 render hours, and Frozen clocked 62,800,000 render hours.

Director Patrick Osborne had been shooting one-second videos of his meals for a couple months when he noticed patterns forming — his life reflected in the food he ate. "I wanted to tell a story through the different meals a person eats," says Osborne. "I was interested in how the food alone could reveal that someone's life situation has changed. There's something cool about that." In order to capture the look of production designer Jeff Turley's concept art, the filmmakers developed new techniques, including a way to break up the edges of shapes on screen. "Jeff used certain paper textures throughout his artwork that made the edges feel less harsh," says director Patrick Osborne. "It looks like ripped paper—but it's challenging to do it in 3D animation because the texture doesn't automatically move with the shape." Filmmakers invited a real-life reindeer into the Walt Disney Animation Studios, observing the animal's physical makeup and mannerisms, which were later caricatured in the making of Kristoff's reindeer buddy Sven. The reindeer showcased an unexpected technique for taking care of an itch on his ear: he used his back legs—like a dog might do. Sven later adopted the technique.

The character of Kristoff was largely influenced by the Sami people, who are indigenous to parts of northern Norway. The Sami are known for herding reindeer, which may explain why Kristoff's best buddy is a reindeer named Sven. Filmmakers visited a Sami-owned reindeer husbandry business in Roros, Norway. "I loved the idea of making a Mickey film that felt like a newly discovered 1928 short," says director Lauren MacMullan. "I decided not to have Mickey talk much, because he didn't in those early shorts. We used Walt's voice initially as scratch, but it sounded so perfect. It put us right in that era. Our assistant editor Danya Joseph started to hunt within existing Walt recordings for lines that would fit our story needs, and we were able to tailor our dialogue to reflect what we had." To create new model sheets for each of the characters, 2D animator Eric Goldberg studied the early Mickey films and pulled frame grabs to find the poses he liked best. For each model sheet he created, he would give the character what he called "a uniform Ub Iwerks pass," and make sure that they looked authentic to the 1928 period.

As the CG rigs and models began to take shape, Goldberg played a key supervisory role, doing draw-overs to help achieve the look that director Lauren MacMullan wanted. In order to visually identify the three unique video game worlds that the movie primarily takes place in, Art Directors Mike Gabriel and Ian Gooding created a unique shape language for Fix-It Felix Jr., Hero's Duty, and Sugar Rush. Fix-It Felix Jr. was comprised of squares, Hero's Duty was constructed with triangles, and Sugar Rush was inspired by circular shapes. The filmmaking team used different animation techniques for characters within Fix-It Felix Jr., Hero's Duty, and Sugar Rush as an addition to distinguish between the different game worlds. The Fix-It Felix Jr. characters had an 8-bit, staccato influence, the Hero's Duty characters were intended to have hyper-realistic movements, and the Sugar Rush characters had an exaggerated, cartoon-like feel to how they moved. The film features over 180 unique characters that were created for the film. In comparison, Tangled had 64. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Paperman won the Oscar in 2013 for "Best Animated Short Film." This is the first win in this category for the studio since the 1969 short "It's Tough to Be a Bird." Looking back at other digital techniques that were created to combine 2D and CG animation like Tarzan's "Deep Canvas," Software Engineer Brian Whited designed a new program called "Meander" which allowed the filmmakers to create the film's unique hand-drawn look in a computer-generated environment. Won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Tangled marks Walt Disney Animation Studios' 50th full-length animated feature. A CG animated feature, which raised the bar for human animation in the CG world. Special software had to be created to simulate movement for the hair since no one had ever animated that much hair before. Her 70 feet of golden hair contained more than 100,000 individual strands. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “I See the Light.” Bolt's original title was ‘American Dog.’ Bolt was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year. Bolt was Disney’s first animated feature to be conceived and designed for 3D.

The Princess and the Frog was nominated for 3 Academy Awards for Best Original Song for “Almost There” and “Down in New Orleans,” and Best Animated Feature Film of the Year. The Princess and the Frog was based on an original story by Ron Clements and John Musker. Chicken Little was Disney's first complete CG-animated feature film. Chicken Little was the first to be presented in Disney Digital 3-D. Meet the Robinsons is based on the book by William Joyce. Brother Bear's working title was ‘Bears.’ Brother Bear was created at the Disney Feature Animation Studio in Florida at Walt Disney World. An early version of Home on the Range was titled ‘Sweating Bullets.’ Home on the Range's voice talent Ann Richards was formerly the Governor of Texas. This was the first animated feature where the backgrounds were all painted by computer. The "Deep Canvas" technology that was developed for Tarzan was used to create a new process called "Virtual Sets" that allowed the production team to create 360-degree sets for animated environments. This enabled them to use live-action cinematography techniques in an animated world. Primarily produced at Disney’s Feature Animation studio in Walt Disney World. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Emperor's New Groove was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, “My Funny Friend and Me.” The original title for Emperor's New Groove was ‘Kingdom of the Sun.’ Atlantis: The Lost Empire directors based the design on the style of cult comic book artist Mike Mignola who served as an artistic consultant. Atlantis: The Lost Empire Atlantean's had an original readable, speakable language that was created by linguistics expert Marc Okrand. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Levine provided the soundtrack for Fantasia 2000. Fantasia 2000 was a longtime pet project of Roy E. Disney, receiving his personal supervision. Dinosaur composited CG-animated dinosaurs against live-action backgrounds for its unique look. The production team developed a 3D painting/rendering technique dubed “Deep Canvas” to produce 3D backgrounds. The software was able to track brushstrokes applied in 3D space and allowed the computer-generated backgrounds to retain a traditional animation aesthetic. Animator Glen Keane designed the character of Tarzan, drawing inspiration for Tarzan’s persona from his teenage son, Max, who loved performing fearless skateboarding stunts and watching extreme sports, such as snowboarding.

Thus, Tarzan seemed to ‘surf’ through the trees. Nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture. This film won an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song, (“You’ll Be in My Heart”.) Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score. In order to create the 1,800+ Hun soldiers, the production team developed a new computer software tool called Attila which allowed them to have each of the Huns move independently of one another without having to meticulously animate each of them. The is the first film to be primarily produced at the Disney Feature Animation Studio at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida The film features the first use in animation of the process of morphing, wherein an object is made to smoothly transform into another, utilizing computer technology. A field trip to Greece and Turkey in the summer of 1994 gave artists a firsthand look at landscapes, ancient sides, and an opportunity to hear expert accounts of classic Greek mythology. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Go the Distance” written by composer, Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel.

At various stages of the production, the creative team for Pocahontas consulted with Native American scholars and storytellers to incorporate authentic aspects of the Powhatan culture into the film. The look and style of Pocahontas was inspired by the filmmakers’ numerous visits to Jamestown, Virginia, as well as by extensive research into the Colonial period. Pocahontas won two Academy Award for Beset Original Score and Best Original Song for “Color of the Wind.” In Pocahontas, the use of strong vertical and horizontal imagery in the design springs from the tall, vertical shapes of the Virginia pine forests and the vast horizontal landscapes. The Huntchback of Notre Dame was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is from the Victor Hugo epic novel, first published in 1831. Won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” Also nominated for two additional Academy Awards for Best Original Song for both “Circle of Life” and “Hakuna Matata.” The main locations for the film, including Pride Rock and the Gorge, are modeled after Hell's Gate National Park in Kenya.

The project originated a number of years earlier under the title, ‘King of the Jungle.’ Actual live lions were brought to the studio, for the animators to study. Computer-generated imagery enabled the filmmakers to create the amazing magic carpet ride through the Cave of Wonders, the intricately patterned flying carpet, and the stunning tiger head cave. Won two Academy Award for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “A Whole New World.” Also nominated for 3 Academy Awards for Best Effects, Best Original Song for “Friend Like Me,” and Best Sound. Eric Goldberg, the Genie’s supervising animator, was heavily influenced by the curved, fluid caricature style of artist Al Hirschfeld. The art directors were inspired by Persian miniatures and Arabian calligraphy. Art Directors traveled to the Loire valley in France, and studied great French romantic painters, Fragonard and Bouchard for inspiration. The ‘Be Our Guest’ sequence used Computer-generated imagery, along with the creation of a striking three-dimensional ballroom background, allowing dramatic camera moves on the animated characters as they danced. The film won two Academy Awards: one for Best Original Song (“Beauty and the Beast”) and the other for Best Original Score.

This was the first animated feature to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. Portions of the film were animated at Disney-MGM Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The first Disney animated classic essentially to be a sequel. Five key members of the creative team traveled to the Australian outback to observe for themselves its unique beauty. The used photos from Ayers Rock, Katherine Gorge, and Kakadu National Park. This was the first animated feature completely produced with CAPS (computer animation production system) which allowed the film to be created entirely using computers. First feature done all in CAPS. Also since Jim Jordan, who had voiced the albatross Orville in the original ‘The Rescuers,’ had passed away it was Roy E. Disney who suggested the character of Wilbur, Orville’s brother, as a replacement. The names of course, were a play on the Wright Brothers. First Disney animated feature based on a classic fairy tale in three decades (since Sleeping Beauty). This film turned to the famous story by Hans Christian Andersen. This was the last Disney feature film to utilize hand-painted cel animation.

It was also the first to use the newly-developed CAPS process (computer animation production system) to generate artwork for a few sequences. This was essentially a digital ink and paint system that allowed artists to create and catalogue their work using computers. In 1992, the Disney/Pixar team that developed CAPS won an Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Scientific and Engineering Award. Won an Academy Award for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “Under the Sea.” Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Kiss the Girl.” Disney artists had considered an animated film of ‘The Little Mermaid’ in the late 1930s and illustrator Kay Nielsen prepared a number of striking story sketches in pastels and watercolors. Kay Nielsen received a ‘Visual Development’ credit on the 1989 film. The Great Mouse Detective animation took just over one year to complete. This remarkably short production span was possible due to new efficiencies in the production process (such as video tests and computer assisted layouts and graphics), and an increased emphasis on story development prior to the start of production.

The climatic scene in The Great Mouse Detective where Basil faces Ratigan in a final confrontation inside the turning and thrashing gear works of Big Ben. The 54 moving gears winches, ratchets, beams and pulleys were literally drawn by the computer. The Great Mouse Detective is based on Eve Titus’s book, Basil of Baker Street. The Great Mouse Detective capitalized on the CGI (computer-generated imagery) techniques used for producing The Black Cauldron as layouts were done on computers and the climactic sequence within the interior of Big Ben relies heavily on computer-generated animation. Oliver & Company designers went to New York and photographed street scenes from a dog’s perspective -18 inches off the ground- getting stares from passerby but providing excellent reference material for the lay out artist. Oliver & Company is Howard Ashman’s first Disney Feature film. Oliver & Company was the first film to have its own department set up expressly for the purpose of generating computer animation. The Fox and the Hound marked the premier effort of a new generation of Disney animators who would, in a few years create ‘The Little Mermaid,’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ The Fox and the Hound featured the song, ‘Best of Friends,’ by Richard O.

Johnston, son of animator Ollie Johnston. Fox and the Hound was based on a story by Daniel P. Mannix. The Black Cauldron won an Academy Award for the Development of the Animation Photo Transfer Process. The Black Cauldron was the first film to use the new technological breakthrough - APT (Animation Photo Transfer) process. This was the first major change in the Studio’s method of transferring the artist’s drawings to a cel since photocopying. The Black Cauldron was 12 years in the making. The Black Cauldron was the first Disney animated feature to utilize CGI (computer-generated imagery) for creating such elements as the cauldron, bubbles, and a boat in the film. Based on the original books by A.A Milne. The film’s animators produced approximately 330,000 drawings, 14 sequences with 1,039 separate scenes and 750 backgrounds. The film was based on two books by Margery Sharp, The Rescuers and Miss Bianca. Nominated for an Oscar.

Was Snow White Was The First Animated Feature - Big Cartoon Contact Authors Snow White Was The First Animated Feature We saved the best for last- Disney’s biggest lie is also the most absurd. While Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs is an important film- groundbreaking even- it is not even close to what the Disney Company claims. Was Snow White the first feature-length animated film? No- she missed it by decades (yes, plural!). How about Snow White being the first color feature-length animated film? We think not. OK, let’s add more weasel words- was Snow White the first sound color feature-length animated film? No, and this is starting to get ridiculous. One of the original release posters for the film calls it Walt Disney’s first full-length feature production. And even that claim is debatable. Maybe Snow White was the first animated film to win an Academy Award. Sorry Charlie. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs is just a pretty good film from Disney. What Was The Real First Animated Film? Let’s lay some ground rules out at the beginning- like what is a feature film.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences- the Oscar people- and their British counterparts at the BFI consider any film over 40 minutes a feature length film. We will go with that. Animated is a bit tougher to define, but let’s start with the film must be over 50 percent animated. As for animation itself, let’s just agree that it means the act of creating motion with static objects through the use of the persistence of vision illusion created by the frame rates of film. This can be created in a variety of ways: puppet, cel, stop-motion and computer to name a few. Cristiani making El Apóstol The first film generally accepted as meeting all these requirements is the Argentinian film El Apóstol (The Apostle) from 1917. The film was written, directed and animated by Quirino Cristiani, and ran 70 minutes. Well-known caricaturist Diógenes Taborda headed a team of five animators which produced 58,000 drawings for the film over 12 months. Unfortunately, the film no longer exists (although no one disputes that it did exist).

All known copies disappeared in a 1926 fire in producer Federico Valle’s vaults. Who Released Animated Features Before Walt Disney? Cristiani went on to direct Sin Dejar Rastros (Without A Trace) the following year, but this animated feature film was confiscated by the government and destroyed. Peludópolis (Peludó City) was released in 1931 with a Vitaphone sound-on-disc synchronization system soundtrack, making it generally credited as the first animated feature film with sound. All of Cristiani’s films were black & white, and traditionally animated. Still from Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed The first color feature-length animated film was Lotte Reinigers’ Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (The Adventures of Prince Achmed) from 1926, predating Disney’s film by over a decade. You probably remember this film for also using a multiplane camera years before Disney, too. This silent film was puppet and paper cut-out / silhouette animation. Prinzen Achmed is the oldest surviving animated feature, too.

The Russians beat Disney to the punch with the puppet-animated Novyy Gullivyer (The New Gulliver) in 1935. Animation pioneer Ladislaw Starewicz released the third animated film with sound titled Le Roman De Renard (The Story Of The Fox) in April of 1937, and the Germans followed up later that year with Die Sieben Raben (The Seven Ravens) which came out the week before Snow White. Le Roman De Renard by Ladislaw Starewicz So as you can see, Disney had no true claim on the first feature animated film, nor the first with sound, or even the first in color. But to make this story even stranger, even Disney released a color, feature-length color animated film before Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs . Wait- Disney released an animated film before Snow White?

In an effort to promote the impending release of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs , and to try and create excitement for the studio, Disney took five previous Academy Award-winning shorts ( Flowers and Trees , Three Little Pigs , Three Orphan Kittens , The Tortoise and the Hare , and The Country Cousin ) and put them together anthology style with bridging narration. At 41 minutes, Academy Award Review Of Walt Disney Cartoons ironically became Disney’s first animated feature film- in color and with sound. Academy Award Review Of Walt Disney Cartoons And that story about Snow White being the first animated film to win an Oscar- don’t believe that one, either. She was nominated for Best Musical Score, but lost. Walt was given an honorary Oscar for technical achievement for Snow White- famously one large statue with seven smaller ones- but this was not an official Academy Award.

Disney releases Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Feb 04, 1938 - HISTORY.com Disney releases Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Share this: Disney releases Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Author Disney releases Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs URL Publisher A+E Networks “See for yourself what the genius of Walt Disney has created in his first full length feature production,” proclaimed the original trailer for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, released on this day in 1938. Based on the famous fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, Snow White opened with the Wicked Queen asking her magic mirror the question “Who is the fairest one of all?” The mirror gives its fateful answer: Snow White, the queen’s young stepdaughter. Ordered by the queen to kill the young princess, a sympathetic woodsman instead urges Snow White to hide in the forest; there she encounters a host of friendly animals, who lead her to a cottage inhabited by the Seven Dwarfs: Sleepy, Dopey, Doc, Sneezy, Grumpy, Bashful and Happy.

Eventually, in the classic happy ending viewers would come to expect as a Disney trademark, love conquers all as the dwarfs defeat the villainous queen and Snow White finds love with a handsome prince. Walt Disney’s decision to make Snow White, which was the first animated feature to be produced in English and in Technicolor, flew in the face of the popular wisdom at the time. Naysayers, including his wife Lillian, warned him that audiences, especially adults, wouldn’t sit through a feature-length cartoon fantasy about dwarfs. But Disney put his future on the line, borrowing most of the $1.5 million that he used to make the film. Snow White premiered in Hollywood on December 21, 1937, earning a standing ovation from the star-studded crowd. When it was released to the public the following February, the film quickly grossed $8 million, a staggering sum during the Great Depression and the most made by any film up to that time. Critics were virtually unanimous in their admiration for Snow White. Charlie Chaplin, who attended the Hollywood premiere, told the Los Angeles Times that the film “even surpassed our high expectations.

In Dwarf Dopey, Disney has created one of the greatest comedians of all time.” The movie’s innovative use of story, color, animation, sound, direction and background, among other elements, later inspired directors like Federico Fellini and Orson Welles. In fact, Welles’ Citizen Kane features an opening shot of a castle at night with one lighted window that is strikingly similar to the first shot of the Wicked Queen’s castle in Snow White. Disney won an honorary Academy Award for his pioneering achievement, while the music for the film, featuring Snow White’s famous ballad, “Some Day My Prince Will Come” and other songs by Frank Churchill, Larry Morey, Paul J. Smith and Leigh Harline, was also nominated for an Oscar. The studio re-released Snow White for the first time in 1944, during World War II; thereafter, it was released repeatedly every decade or so, a pattern that became a tradition for Disney’s animated films. For its 50th anniversary in 1987, Snow White was restored, but cropped into a wide-screen format, a choice that irked some critics. Disney released a more complete digital restoration of the film in 1993.

Its power continues to endure: In June 2008, more than 60 years after its U.S. release, the American Film Institute chose Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as the No. 1 animated film of all time in its listing of “America’s 10 Greatest Films in 10 Classic Genres.” Related Videos History of Animation Timeline Home > Timelines > History of Animation Timeline History of Animation Timeline Timeline Description: Today the use of television and movies is as common as breathing, but it wasn't always that way. The animation industry began less than 150 years ago, but it has grown into a hugely popular pastime. Date 1887 The start of it all A man named H.W. Goodwin invented a celluloid film which could hold images. It was made of gum cotton and gum camphor. 1892 An early moving-picture production A man in France named Emil Reynaud opened a theatre using an invention called the Praxinoscope. It used turning mirrors to reflect images and produce a 10 to 15 minute "moving picture." 1893 Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope Using the celluloid film developed by H.W.

Goodwin, Edison was able to produce moving film pictures on the wall. The film moved over a series of wheels to produce the pictures. 1899 Sound is captured Using a magnetic recording device, sound was recorded for the first time. Animation enthusiasts would latch onto the technology. 1900 The Enchanted Drawing A man named James Stuart Blackton used animation techniques to produce a short film. It documented the drawing process of characters, without ever showing the artist; this made it seem that the drawings simply appeared. 1908 The first official animated film A Frenchman name Emile Cohl produced a film called "Fantasmagorie." It was a hit, and is known today as the first true animated film. 1914 This short animation film became popular quickly. It was created by Windsor McCay. 1915 A patent on the process A man named John Bray developed and patented a streamlined process for creating animated films. He tried, unsuccessfully, to force other companies to use his designs. 1920 Felix the Cat A man named Otto Messmer, who had been working in animation for a few years, created a character named Felix the Cat. Felix was very successful and even ended up including dolls and watches.

1922 Laugh-O-Grams Twenty-year-old Walt Disney began his first animation film studio called Laugh-O-Grams. It failed after only a short time. 1928 Steamboat Willie Walt Disney didn't give up on making animated films. In 1928 he released a short film called Steamboat Willie featuring Mickey Mouse and using sound for the first time, and it was an instant hit. 1930 Warner Bros. Studio is born Looney Tunes was supposed to be a spin off on the Silly Symphonies produced by Disney. It soon took on a life of its own and became very popular. 1930 Other popular charters Throughout the 1930's, several now-iconic characters were created. This included Betty Boop, Popeye the Sailor, and Daffy Duck. 1932 New technologies Walt Disney developed the use of 3-strip Technicolor animation. In 1935, Len Lye created a method of painting directly on film strips; he used it in his animated film "Color Box." 1937 The first full-length film Walt Disney produced the first ever full-length animated film. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a major hit.

1940 Iconic characters grow The next decade brought several new popular characters to life. This included Woody Woodpecker, Mighty Mouse, and Tom and Jerry. 1972 Computer generated movies At the University of Utah, and man named Ed Catmull developed a method of creating computer generated movies. It used scripting language. 1993 3-D and beyond Apple computer company produced a method for creating 3-D films, and in 1995 Toy Story was released as the first full-length 3-D film. The animation industry would never be the same. <a href="">History of Animation Timeline</a>

Question: What was the first full-length animated film?
Answer: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs